Comment

Comments on stories are a way for Late Night Live listeners to contribute to and discuss the program.

Comments are moderated. Before you contribute, we recommend you read our house rules.

Reply

Author

Email

Date/Time

25 May 2018 6:19:08am

Text

PreviousMessage

Dear Phillip,This comment may get me into trouble again, or you. Lindsay Tanner makes the need for careful scrutiny of the media very clear in "Sideshow, Dumbing Down Democracy". (The last two paragraphs of his book should be a must-read; they inspire me to keep on demanding a much fuller picture of what is happening in Syria.)

Anyway, I have emailed my concerns about the reporting on Syria to an ABC section head. I have suggested that other people within the community with stories that challenge the simplistic narrative on Syria, with all of its half truths and bias, should be interviewed. ("The World Today", in particular, tends to interview people with one story to tell only; one of their regular guests has been a Syrian American lawyer.) Well-informed Syrian Australians are not that difficult to find. Unfortunately, some of the best informed may have a problem with expressing themselves well in English on the radio, but that shouldn't prevent the accessing of their knowledge and the airing of their views. The bigger puzzle of Syria should be presented to the public; otherwise, we are being 'infantilized' (an expression taken from Robert Fisk's writing).

The email response I received was, '..where we are already relying on limited sources of information, we do not think it best to turn to "local Syrian and Lebanese communities". They are relying on the same distant sources that we are. To seek comment from them would add a further layer of distance from the source material.'

So, it seems to me the ABC has had a policy of avoiding a serious effort to present views which differ significantly from those put by Randa Slim in your interview. Hearing Robert Fisk challenge them was like a breath of fresh intellectual air. (Though there is more to say, more to debate. Always!)

I hope attention is given reporting on Syria in an investigation into the Australian media. Lindsay Tanner writes, "A central element of our society, informed democracy as the basis for political decision-making is being eroded. This erosion ...could return us to the world of the nineteenth century when powerful elites dominated western societies..." (last page of "Sideshow"). I believe that applies in this case.

Please note that there is limit per post of 3,000 characters, including spaces, carriage returns and punctuation (about 500 words). Your email address will not be published.